


Synergistic Science (Or, Tales of the Science Family of Laboratory 97)

by gaeriel



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Gen, Pepper just has to remind him sometimes, Peter is everybody's intern, Tony Stark Has A Heart, more character tags to come, science is awesome
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-23
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2020-01-24 08:29:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18567652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaeriel/pseuds/gaeriel
Summary: Jane and Darcy have shared intern custody of Peter. Darcy decided she needs some fancy letters after her name. Tony meddles and is offended by duct tape.Peter loves his Science Family.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic started because it seems like Jane and Darcy faded away after Jane and Thor broke up. I found that really hard to believe and started imagining what would they have been doing after half the population turned to dust if they had survived, and then after. As Avengers: Endgame comes out this week, I'm sure this will be wildly divergent from canon, and more so as I continue.

He could just barely reach the blue wire with the tip of his middle finger, but it was enough. He carefully wriggled his hand through the tangled mess, the wire stuck to his finger. “Got it!” He called out, triumphantly. 

“Great work, Peter!” Darcy placed the mini soldering pen into the hand that wasn’t buried deep inside the access panel.

Peter grinned, and carefully soldered the broken connection back together. He sat back. “Okay, Doc! Try it now!”

Jane gave him and Darcy a thumbs up in acknowledgment and bent over her computer, typing out a command line. A second after she hit ENTER, the machine whirrred to life and the indicator lights on the wall panel lit up, all green. “Yes!” she screamed and punched the air. She jumped up and grabbed Peter and Darcy into a group hug. “We did it!”

The three jumped up and down, arms still around each other, laughing and screaming in celebration.

“Hey, some of us are trying to work over here!” 

The three stopped and looked over towards the doorway. Tony Stark leaned against the door frame, smirking. 

Peter ducked his head and ran a hand through his hair. “Hey, Mr. Stark.”

Jane pointed at the machine. “Look!” she cried. “It’s working!”

Tony walked over. “That’s great, Foster--” He paused and frowned. “Are you kidding me? Is that _duct tape_? Do I not give you a big enough budget that you have to resort to _duct tape_?” He threw his arms up, gesturing violently at the offending section of the machine. “And, oh my god, what the hell type of casing is that?” He turned to Jane. “There’s an entire lab downstairs with fabricators and 3D printers. You don’t need to MacGyver your equipment together anymore with stuff from the trash and,” he shuddered, “ _duct tape_.”

Darcy laughed. “Hey, it’s part of her process, man. And duct tape is awesome. Don’t knock the duct tape. It’s held these babies together for years!” She held out a foot, proudly displaying her well worn Doc Martens.

Tony looked at the tape-covered boots with disdain and pinched his nose, sighing. “Lewis,” he said in a pained voice. “I know for a fact we pay you enough to buy new shoes. You just wear those to make my soul hurt.”

Darcy grinned cheekily. “So you admit to having a soul, Tin Man!”

Tony stared at her for a second before shaking his head and sighing. “No respect for the boss,” he muttered. 

“Oh, any respect I had for you was gone when I peeled you and Jane out of the lab after a three day science bender and you called me ‘Science Dolly Parton’.”

Jane yelped. “He did _what_? I don’t remember that.” She turned a glare on Tony. 

Darcy rolled her eyes. “You were practically hallucinating in wormhole physics at that point. I’m surprised you were upright.” She waved a hand off to the side. “Anyway, I’m used to comments like that, and I’m normally very happy with how Mother Nature has treated me, but--” She moved next to Jane and also glared at Tony. “Rude.” 

Tony wilted at bit under the two women’s combined glares, and at Peter’s disappointed puppy dog look. “Okay, fine. I’ll make it up to you. You want a raise? I’ll give you a raise. FRIDAY, give Lewis a raise.”

“Certainly, boss.” The AI’s lilting voice projected out of the speakers mounted in the ceiling. “How much should I tell accounting?”

Tony huffed. “I don’t know--”

Peter jumped in. “Maybe you should ask Ms. Potts what’s fair compensation for sexual harassment?”

FRIDAY responded immediately. “That’s a great idea, Mr. Parker.”

Tony yelled, “Wait, that wasn’t an order. Belay that!”

“Sorry, boss. I’ve already relayed that question to Ms. Potts.”

“Shit.” Tony pointed at Jane and Darcy. “Stop corrupting my intern and AI. I know it was you two.” A buzzing noise sounded from his pocket and took a deep breath before reaching for his phone. Narrowing his eyes at the three in front of him, he answered. “Pepper, love of my life, light of my day--” He spun on his heels and walked out of the lab. 

Darcy and Jane learned towards each other and started giggling. Peter held out for a few beats before collapsing against the other two, unable to keep the laughter in. 

Jane recovered first, and wiped the tears from her eyes. “Okay, I think we deserve a break.” She looked at the computer screen and nodded. “Everything looks to be running smoothly for now, and there’s nothing we can do until we can test the range on this thing. And I’m starving.” She looked at the other two. 

Darcy looked at the clock in shock. “Jeez, we worked right through lunch.” She lightly punched Peter on the arm. “Why didn’t you say something? Your stomach must be eating itself.”

Peter noticed then how hungry he was, and his stomach decided then to gurgle loudly. He shrugged. “Sorry, guess I was in the zone.” He looked at Jane hopefully. “Can we get tacos?”

“From that place three blocks down?” Jane’s face lit up. “Oh hell yes! And they have those amazing margaritas.”

Darcy grabbed her bag. “I’m totally in. Mama needs some carne adovado and margaritas.” She slung an arm over Peter’s shoulders and headed out of the lab. “You can be our DD.”

Peter looked at her in amusement. “But we’re walking.”

Jane locked the door behind them and fell in on Peter’s other side. “We’re totally expensing this,” she said, looping an arm through his. “Tony can pay for our meal after insulting Darcy, and I plan to make him pay in tequila. So we are going to need your sober underaged butt to make sure we get back to the Tower in one piece.”

Peter rolled his eyes but let himself be dragged along by the two women. “Remind me how I got myself into this?”

“You asked Tony if you could work with us.” Jane poked him in the side and giggled when he yelped. “You have only yourself to blame.”

* * *

The next day, Peter walked into the lab and was surprised to see Darcy already there. “I thought you’d be sleeping off a hangover,” he said as he tossed his backpack in the corner. 

She looked up from her textbook and waved at him. “Nah, you’d need a lot more than the half a pitcher of margarita to get me hungover. I had way too much practice in undergrad.” She leaned back in her chair and stretched her arms over her head. “Jane, though, she’s a lightweight. When I knocked on her door this morning, there was no sign of life. Don’t expect her in for a bit, and when she does, she’s going to need a bucket of coffee.” She pointed her highlighter at Peter. “So chop chop, intern.”

Peter mock saluted her. “Aye aye, boss lab assistant.”

Darcy grinned. “I so love having a minion.”

“So how’s the studying going? Ready for your midterm?” Peter asked as he counted scoops of coffee into the machine. After a slight pause, he added two more than he normally did.

“I think so. I’m so ready to graduate, though.”

Peter hopped up to sit on the desk next to her. “How much more do you have?”

She rolled her eyes. “At the rate I’m going, I’ll get my masters around the time you get yours. But with all this,” she flapped a hand around the lab, “I can’t really handle more than one class a semester.”

“Can’t you get credit for all the work you’re doing with Dr. Foster and Dr. Selvig? I mean, that must be worth something, right?”

Darcy waved her highlighter at him. “Nuh uh. My intern days are over. I’m a lab assistant now. I have my own interns,” here she tapped him on the arm with the highlighter and grinned, “to boss around.” She dropped the marker down on the desk and closed the book.

“It doesn’t seem quite right that you can’t use your experience to test out or something.” Peter looked down at the title. “I’d think that after working with Dr. Foster for the past, what, eight years? You’d be beyond _Introduction to Astrophysics_.” He looked pointedly over at the long range sensing machine that Darcy had helped design and build. “Just sayin’.”

“Peter does have a point, Darcy.”

The two looked up to see Pepper Potts standing in the doorway of the lab. She walked in and set the paper shopping bag she had been carrying down on the desk. “This is for you, Darcy. I’m so sorry for Tony. And yes, we have given you a raise out of Tony’s personal R&D budget.”

Darcy jumped out of her chair and looked into the bag. “Oooh.” She pulled a shoe box out and opened it. “Check it,” she told Peter happily. “New Docs!” She paused and her face fell slightly. “Does this mean I can’t wear my old ones anymore to annoy Tony?” she asked Pepper.

Pepper laughed. “I had a feeling that was why you hadn’t replaced them.” She walked around the desk and glanced down at Darcy’s feet. “While I admire your persistence, Darcy, please wear the new shoes. It doesn’t look great on SI to have our employees wearing thrift store rejects.” She paused. “No offense.”

Darcy grinned and clutched the shoe box to her chest. “Totally no offense taken. I get it. I’m so used to wearing what I can find at Goodwill, it’ll just take a bit for me to get used to actually having disposable income.”

“You don’t have to go crazy,” Pepper said. “I understand laboratory work. You don’t want to wear anything that you don’t want ruined or isn’t comfortable. But,” she pointedly looked down at Darcy’s duct-taped boots, “maybe it’s time to retire those.”

“You got it, boss lady.” Darcy sat down and started unlacing her old boots.

Pepper picked up the thick textbook and flipped through it. “I’m no expert, but isn’t this material kind of basic compared to what you’re doing now?”

Darcy pulled off one boot, revealing a sock covered in kittens. She shrugged. “I mean, yeah, kind of. The theory in there is practically out of date given everything Jane and Erik’s discovered these past few years. And the calculations are things that Jane was having me do after New Mexico and I stuck around.” The other boot came off and her other sock was striped blue and pink. Darcy reached for the new Doc Martens. “But this class is a prerequisite for all the other classes in the program.” She sat back and looked proudly at her feet. She clicked the toes of the new boots together, and she admired the lack of duct tape marring the surface. “Thanks for the boots, Pepper. Really.” She picked up her old ones and dropped them in the garbage can.

“They’re the very least I could do after what Tony said.” She closed the book with a snap and frowned down at the cover. “And I’m going to have Tony call up Empire State University and talk to your dean. It’s utterly ridiculous that you have to sit through these classes. You’ve co-authored papers that are way beyond what’s in that book, for god’s sake.”

Darcy took the book back. “You really don’t have to do that. I feel like I should sit through this stuff for real, you know. It’s not like my poli sci degree really prepared me for a graduate program in astrophysics.”

Peter jumped in then. “I’d say those six science credits sure did.” He grinned up at Pepper. “Right, Ms. Potts?”

Pepper smiled back. “And then some.” She looked back to Darcy. “I think it’s still worth a shot. If you get out of some classes, that’s both time and money you’ll save.”

Darcy frowned and Peter could almost see the mental math. “It’s true that ESU is not cheap. And if it gets me done sooner, I guess, sure, why not? The worst that can happen is they say no, right?”

Pepper’s smile turned into an outright grin and she nodded approvingly. “Attagirl. I’ll talk to Tony. Lay the guilt on him.” She reached out to ruffle Peter’s hair briefly. “Okay, I need to head to my office. I’ll see you guys later.” 

“Bye, Ms. Potts!” Peter called out as Pepper walked out the door.

“Bye, Pepper!” Darcy echoed. 

Peter turned to Darcy. “I never asked you this before, but why are you going back to school? You don’t need an astrophysics degree here. Dr. Foster doesn’t care about that.”

“But other people do.” Darcy sat back down and leaned back, propping her feet on the desk. “They see Jane and Erik and all that they’ve done. Creating a Einstein-Rosen Bridge, modeling the physics of the Bifrost. That’s Nobel Prize level stuff there. And then there’s me. After those two, I’ve probably got the most hands-on experience with artificial wormholes in the entire world. But, all anyone sees is my lack of credentials after my name.” She spun the chair around, her boots hitting the ground with a thud. She looked at the large machine sitting in the middle of the lab. “Who would ever believe that a BA in political science helped design that? That I did most of the coding, and helped with the calculations for designing the arrays, and the physical welding and wiring that thing together?” She looked at Peter. “Maybe it’s egotistical, but I want to be worthy of being Jane’s assistant. To show everyone else that I’m here for a reason and not just because Jane felt sorry for me, or some BS like that.”

Peter opened his mouth to respond when Jane shuffled into the lab. She blinked furiously in the florescent lights and her mouth was drawn tightly in a flat line. She made a beeline for the coffee machine and poured herself a mug, and drank it down without adding any cream or sugar. She then poured a second cup and held it, staring down at it for a few seconds. Suddenly, she looked up fiercely. “Darcy Lewis, don’t you _dare_ ever talk like that again. Of course you’re worthy to work with me! I couldn’t survive without you. You’re my best friend, Darce, and you’re so so smart. Smart enough to have figured out how to deal with me. Smart enough to keep me human. You were there for _everything_. After New Mexico and London, how could you even question yourself?” She gulped down the second cup of coffee and set the mug down with a slam. “And screw everybody who doesn’t see that? You figured out how to put together an extraterrestrial sensor with _duct tape_! And screw Tony Stark for making fun of that.” She marched forward and pulled and astonished Darcy into a tight hug. In a softer voice, she said, “And you helped me after Thor left, both times, and I was a mess. And I’m so sorry if I ever made you feel less than amazing, because you are.”

Darcy hugged Jane back. When she spoke, her voice was shaky. “You’re my best friend, too, Jane. I love you.”

Peter shifted awkwardly from foot to foot and then started to slowly inch towards the door. Darcy’s hand shot out and grabbed him and pulled him into the hug. “Oh no you don’t. Come on. Join the feels.”

He sighed and hugged the two women back. “Darcy, I think you’re pretty great too. If you weren’t there helping out Mr. Stark and Dr. Foster, I may not be here right now. So thanks. Because being a pile of dust _sucked_.”

Darcy laughed. “You guys are the best.” She broke the hug and wiped her eyes. “But I still gotta finish this degree. I want to do it. Not just because of other people, but for me. Turns out that I like this science stuff more than I expected I would when I applied for that internship.”

Jane nodded. “Okay. And I’ll support you in that. If you ever need help, let me know.”

“Dude, you already wrote me a kickass recommendation letter for my application! The school was practically begging me to enroll after they read that.”

“I’m sure Tony Stark’s letter didn’t hurt either.”

Darcy sniffed. “Psh. Tony who? Dr. Jane Foster is where it’s at.” She held out her hand towards Peter, who obligingly gave her a high-five. “That’s right. My best friend, the Isaac Newton of astrophysics.”

Jane smirked. “Well, the Isaac Newton of astrophysics can still help you with your homework if you get stuck, you know.”

“Well, sure, that’s a given. I help you develop an early warning system for alien visitors, and you help me with my homework. Sounds like an even trade.”

Peter just grinned at the two women. Asking permission to help with this project over his spring break was the best decision he’d ever made.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy has a meeting with her dean. Tony has a heart.

Darcy knocked on the office door and poked her head in. “Hey, Dean Williams. You wanted to see me?”

The gray haired woman behind the desk looked up from her laptop and smiled. “Hi, Darcy. Come in.” She waved to a chair and waited for the younger woman to get settled. “I had a very interesting phone call yesterday afternoon,” she said. “I don’t suppose you know anything about that?”

Darcy grimaced. “Yeah, sorry about that. I told Pepper not to, but she’s kind of a force of nature once she gets her mind on something. But I totally understand needing to take all the prereqs and--”

Dean Williams held up a hand to cut off Darcy. She smirked, having been on the receiving end of one of Darcy’s rambling digressions before. “Putting aside that you are on a first name basis with the CEO of Stark Industries for now, Tony Stark had some very complimentary things to say about you that weren’t mentioned in your recommendation letter. And he sent me all your publications.” She looked over her laptop screen at Darcy and frowned slightly. “Why didn’t you tell anybody that you’re the ‘D.A. Lewis’ that is the co-author on more than a dozen papers and journal articles? I’ve read a few of these before and I don’t even understand some of the theory behind them.”

Darcy squirmed a bit in her seat and twirled a strand of hair around her finger. “Yeah, well, I’ve been trying to keep that on the down low. The other students don’t really understand why I’m here, since I didn’t come in with a BS in a ‘real’,” making air quotes, “science.”

Williams narrowed her eyes. “Are your peers giving you trouble?”

Darcy furiously shook her head. “No, not really. There’s just some disbelief that a BA in poli sci is doing as well as I am.”

The dean did something on her computer. “I see you’ve actually got the highest grade right now in your class. Given what Stark told me about your work history and your papers, I tend to agree with his assessment that we can probably waive the prerequisite requirements for you. Maybe even more.” She held out a pamphlet.

Darcy looked at it and her mouth dropped open. “The PhD program?” she asked.

Williams nodded. “I think we can prove you’re most of the way in proficiency for the masters degree. Consider continuing on for your doctorate. Tony Stark has already agreed to be on your committee if you go that route.”

“I thought you had to be faculty for that.”

Williams gave a very satisfied grin. “He offered to be a visiting lecturer for the duration of your dissertation.”

“He did _what_?” Darcy’s jaw dropped in disbelief. “Man, Pepper must have put the fear of god into him.”

Williams gave her a puzzled look, but nodded and did not comment on the odd remark. “He also said Jane Foster and Erik Selvig would probably also be willing, but given how closely the three of you have worked and are currently working together, that would probably be considered an ethical conflict of interest. Not that I would ever turn either of them down if they wanted to come give a lecture here.” She sat back in her chair. “I can talk to the rest of the faculty about testing you on your knowledge, interview Stark, Foster, and Selvig on their assessment of your skills, and then we’ll develop a personalized course of study to finish your masters degree. Given what I’ve seen so far, I can confidently say that you should probably be done within a year.”

Darcy’s brain was working hard to keep up with what her dean was saying. She frowned as she realized that no school would ever bend over backwards in such a way for any student. “Just how big a donation did Tony offer?” she asked suspiciously. 

There was a glint in her dean’s eye. “Per ESU policy, I can neither confirm nor deny donations without the donor’s explicit permission.”

Darcy dropped her face into her hands and groaned. “Oh my god,” she muttered. “I’m going to kill him.”

Her dean surprised her by _cackling_. “Oh, Darcy. As they say, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. I’m certainly not. The thought of having Tony Stark guest lecturing here, developing a stronger relationship with SI, and finally building that new observatory that has been in the plans for the past seven years?” She looked at Darcy with amusement. “And I only spent an hour on the phone with the man, but I didn’t get the sense that he gives false flattery. If he says you can do this, then you can do this.”

Darcy still grumbled a bit under her breath. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “Can I think about it? I mean, the PhD stuff. I guess we can do the rest first.”

Williams nodded. “Certainly. Why don’t we talk again next week? And if you do decide to pursue your PhD, I would be honored to be your mentor.” She grinned again when Darcy gaped at her like a fish. “Despite everything that Tony Stark offered me, Darcy, I have my own personal reasons for wanting to help you succeed. You have, by what appears to be sheer accident, fallen into this field which you are utterly suited for. Which I’m sure is a fascinating story that you will have to tell me one day over some wine.” She turned serious. “You may have noticed that the physical sciences in general, and astrophysics in particular, is very male-dominated. I’m the first woman to head a science department in all of ESU history. And when I was appointed, there were several faculty members who voiced objections. Now, they never came out and said anything, just that they thought another candidate was more capable, but,” she gave Darcy a knowing look, “it’s not hard to infer.”

Darcy nodded back at her. “I think you and Jane would get along really well,” she said simply. 

Just like that, Williams’ face lit up again. “It would be an honor to meet Dr. Foster.” And then she looked slyly at Darcy. “And it would be an honor to one day meet Dr. Lewis.”

Darcy blushed and looked down. “Thanks, Dean Williams. You honestly don’t know what this all means to me.” She breathed deeply. “I’ll think about it,” she said, holding up the pamphlet. “I’ll talk to Jane and Erik, and see what they think.”

“That’s all I can ask for.” She paused and pursed her lips. “Well, that and one other thing.”

Darcy looked back in horror. How much more could be sprung on her before she keels over?

“I’m also the chair of the ESU high school summer STEM program. Tony Stark has already agreed to a special tour of SI for the students, but he said it would be up to the individual PIs on whether the students could tour their private lab space. Could you please ask your bosses?”

Darcy let out a relieved sigh and sat up straighter, happy to have an easy answer. “No problem. Jane and Erik would probably be happy to give a tour, but I’ll ask.”

Williams stood up then, and held out her hand, signaling that their meeting was over. “Come see me next week before your class, Darcy.”

“Of course.” She shook the other woman’s hand. “Thanks, Dean Williams.”

Williams’ eyes were practically dancing with mirth. “Trust me, Darcy. It’s been my pleasure.”

* * *

“Really, Tony?”

Tony looked up from his tablet and smirked a bit at the annoyed look on Darcy’s face. “So you met with your dean, huh? How’d that go?”

Darcy stomped forward into the common room and flopped herself down on the couch next to Tony. “I hate you,” she told him. And then she flung her arms around him. “Thank you.”

Tony awkwardly patted her on the shoulder. “Okay, we’re hugging now. Careful there, Lewis. I might almost think you care.”

She pulled back and lifted her glasses slightly so she could rub her eyes. “You can’t fool me, Tony Stark. You’re the one who cares.” She grinned cheekily. “The Tin Man has both a soul and a heart.”

He rolled his eyes but then smiled. “I guess that makes you Dorothy, huh?”

She propped her feet up on the coffee table. “Nah, I’m totally the Lion. Turns out I have more courage than I thought.” She looked sidelong over at him. “I think I’m going to tell Dean Williams yes. I’m going to go for my PhD.”

Tony let out a whoop and jumped up. He pointed at her and grinned. “I knew it! You’re going to kick butt, Lewis. And then you’re going to come work for me.”

“I already work for you, doofus.”

“No, you work for Jane.” He rocked back on his heels and put his hands in the pocket of his slacks. “You impressed me, you know, when we were all working together to figure out a way to get to Titan. You see things in a way no one else does. So yeah, I want that brain of yours working for me. Coming up with your own ideas, carrying them out. Sure, you can still work with Foster, but you can do your own stuff too.” 

Darcy looked at him and mentally counted people in her head. There’s Jane and Erik, of course, and Bruce. Peter, who is so smart at sixteen that he keeps up with multiple PhDs and Tony Stark and even surpasses them at times. There was a rumor going around that SI was making overtures to buy up Pym Technologies, probably to try and bring the Pyms onboard. And who knows who else Stark had collected or was trying to collect. “You’re building a science empire,” she said. 

Tony only grinned and held out a hand. “Join me, Lewis, and together, we can rule the galaxy.”

She collapsed into giggles. “You dork.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All work and no play makes Darcy exhausted and burned out. Peter and Jane intervene.

Jane frowned down at the data scrolling across the screen. “You never went out of range of the satellite sensors,” she told Tony, “so we still don’t know what the maximum range is. It’s hard to plan for any upcoming future space visitors if we don’t know when we should expect to see them pop up.”

Tony looked over her shoulder. He was dressed in the specially designed black clothes he preferred to wear under the armor. The space suit that he had just finished testing out stood in the corner. “Agreed. But I’m afraid we might have hit the limits of what we can do for now. I went as far as I was willing to push the suit. Which, hey, cool, I got to fly almost to the moon before the warning indicators started going off. But if we don’t see them until they hit the moon, it’s already too late.”

Jane looked over at him. “Do you know when Colonel Danvers will be back? Or Quill’s team? We could use either of their ships for the range test.”

He shook his head. “Not a clue. And the Asgardians are off somewhere, trying to find a new home world.”

She bit her lip, but didn’t say anything. The whole thing with Thor still hurt a bit. And while they had talked before the Asgardian ships had left, it had been strained and awkward. 

Tony stopped talking and gave her a knowing look. Thankfully, he did not press her. “We may have to develop more tech so we can test your tech.” The look in his eye turned a bit manic. “Stark Industries is going into space exploration, baby! Elon Musk can suck it!” 

* * *

Darcy woke up flailing and screeched as she fell out of her seat onto the floor. She looked up and frowned at Peter, who was standing over her with a concerned look. 

“Oh my god. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you like that. I was trying to wake you up gently.”

Darcy grabbed the table and pulled herself upright again, rubbing her butt. “Ugh, that’s going to bruise later.” She took her glasses off and wiped the sleep from her eyes. “What time is it?”

“It’s getting close to six. Jane sent me to find you so we can get dinner.”

She glared at the pile of books and papers scattered all over the giant table in the old Avengers dining area. The team had been moved to the compound upstate a few years back. After the sale of the Tower had fallen through, Tony had decided to keep the Avengers common areas as they were and opened them to those who lived in the Tower, like Darcy and Jane. It was the perfect quiet space to study, away from the noise and bustle of the labs down below. Darcy sighed. “Yeah, thanks, kid. I could definitely use a break.”

The two headed to the elvators, which opened for them automatically. “Hey, FRIDAY. Can we go to the lobby, please?” Peter said.

“Sure thing,” the AI responded, and the elevator doors shut and the car began moving down.

“When’s the test?” Peter asked Darcy.

“Next Wednesday.” She swiped some hair out of her face. “God, I’m so not ready. I have no clue what’s going to be on this thing, and the profs aren’t going to go easy on me.” There had been some rumblings of favoritism amongst some of the faculty about Dean Williams’ plan to accelerate Darcy through the graduate program, despite Tony’s donation to the school. Maybe because of Tony’s donation. She sighed. 

Peter bumped his shoulder against hers. “You’ll do fine. You know most of this stuff already, and what you don’t, you’ll learn. That’s the whole point of this test, right? To figure out what you do and don’t know?”

She leaned back against the wall. “Yeah, but I don’t want to do badly. What if I completely bomb it and the dean tells me, ‘You know what? Never mind,’ and I’m back to one class a semester for the next decade?”

The doors opened, and Peter grabbed her arm and pulled her into the lobby. “Come on. Food will make you feel better.” The two headed towards where Jane was sitting by the front door. “And stop talking like that, or Jane will give you another lecture.”

Darcy rolled her eyes. “Oh god. The last one lasted ten minutes.” She mimed zipping her lips. “No more complaining.”

Jane looked up from her phone and smiled as they approached. “How does Thai food sound?”

Peter grinned. “I larb Thai food!” he exclaimed.

Laughing, the three went outside and joined the crowd of people walking down the sidewalk. 

“So, Peter,” Darcy said, ready to turn the attention away from her. “What’s this I hear about us getting you all summer?”

The teen dodged a guy in a suit talking on his phone. “Yeah. May agreed that I can work at SI full time for the summer. But I’ll be working all over, not just in your lab. And Mr. Stark has a list of projects for me for upgrades to the Avengers tech.”

“But you’ll still be working with us, right? Because I am not giving up my intern.” Darcy poked him in the arm.

He laughed and swatted her hand away. “Of course! Don’t tell Tony this, but your lab is my favorite.”

Jane looked over in feigned shock. “ _Tony_? Did you just call the esteemed Mr. Stark, ‘Tony’?”

Darcy clutched her chest and rolled her eyes back dramatically. “I think I may have the vapors.”

Peter blushed and ducked his head. “He’s been after me to call him that for ages. I just haven’t to his face.”

“Well why not?” 

He shrugged. “Dunno. I guess maybe he’s been ‘Mr. Stark’ for so long, it’s weird to call him something different.”

Jane reached over and ruffled his hair. “Yeah, about that. You’re calling me ‘Jane’ from now on. No more ‘Dr. Foster’ or ‘Doc’. Call me Jane.”

Darcy frowned. “Hey, why haven’t you called me ‘Ms. Lewis’? I’ve always been ‘Darcy’ to you.”

If his head could receded any more into his shoulders, he would be a turtle. “Sorry?” He gave her a weak smile.

Darcy rolled her eyes. “Fine. But when I get my PhD, I want at least a few ‘Dr. Lewis’s’ from you.”

* * *

Peter fell onto his pad thai like he was starving. Jane and Darcy looked on in some amusement but they had gotten used to Peter’s high metabolism and his need for near constant amounts of food. And, well, they had lived with Thor who could outeat any super soldier or teenaged superhero-slash-intern at their hungriest.

“Slow down before you choke,” Jane suggested gently. “And we can totally order more food if you want.”

Peter looked up and blushed, but he did stop trying to inhale rather than chew his dinner. “Sorry,” he said after he swallowed. “I guess I didn’t pack a big enough lunch.”

Jane flagged down the server and ordered another plate of pad thai, a side of spring rolls, and a Thai ice tea.

“You really didn’t have to do that. This is plenty of food.”

“Who said all that was for you?” Jane grinned when Peter’s face turned a deeper shade of red. “The tea’s for me. This drunken noodle is _spicy_!” She speared a tomato with her fork and bit into it. “And we’re totally splitting those spring rolls.”

“Deal.” Peter took another bite of noodles happily. He looked over at Darcy and frowned. “Hey, you okay there?”

Darcy sat up straighter and blinked rapidly. “Huh? Oh yeah, fine.” She picked up a cashew with her chopsticks and popped it in her mouth. “Just tired. I’ve been cramming all week and I think it’s starting to catch up with me.”

Jane made a face at her. “How many times do I have to tell you that you’re going to do great? Or Erik? Or Tony?”

“Or me!” Peter interjected.

Jane pointed her fork at him. “Or Peter.”

Darcy flapped a hand at her boss and best friend. “Yeah, yeah. Got it. But I’m still nervous.”

“Well, it’s Friday. You’re going to take a break tonight. And Peter got the okay to spend the night at the Tower so we’re going to take over the giant TV in the common room and watch super bad movies.”

“Can we MST3K them?”

Peter smirked. “Duh.”

Darcy grinned. “Okay, deal.”

Peter jumped slightly, and grabbed his phone from his pocket. “Sorry,” he said as he glanced down. “It’s Ned. He’s kind of bummed we can’t hang out tonight.” He flicked the screen to unlock it and his eyes widened. “Whoa!” 

Darcy and Jane both leaned over the table trying to see his phone. “What?” they both said in unison.

Peter held out the phone for them to see the string of text messages.

 **Ned:** dude i got a letter from SI offering me a summer internship!!! omg!!!  
**Ned:** wait i didnt apply for an internship  
**Ned:** OMG TONY STARK GAVE ME AN INTERNSHIP  
**Ned:** DO YOU THINK ITS BC I HACKED YOUR SM SUIT???  
**Ned:** THIS IS THE COOLEST THING EVER!!!  
**Ned:** DO YOU THINK ILL MEET ANY OF THE AVENGERS????!!!

Darcy laughed. “Oh, he’s going to fit right in.” She sat up. “Hey, invite him to movie night! If he’s going to be working at SI this summer, we need to vet him. Make sure he’s cool, he has acceptable opinions on snack foods, will laugh at my awesome jokes. You know, the important stuff.”

Peter’s thumbs where flying across the screen as he replied to Ned. “Asking him now.”

 **Peter:** hey we’re doing a movie night at the tower if u wanna come. u can crash in my room.  
**Ned:** YOU HAVE A ROOM AT AVENGERS TOWER?!!!  
**Peter:** its stark tower again. and more like an apartment. i think it used to be cap’s.  
**Ned:** OMG YOU ARE STAYING IN CAPTAIN AMERICA’S APARTMENT  
**Peter:** lol lay off the capslock dude. u coming or what?  
**Ned:** YES!!! my parents said i can go! i can be there in like an hour!!! SO EXCITED!  
**Peter:** cool. i’ll let jane and darcy know!  
**Ned:** WHAT?!? IM GONNA MEET JANE FOSTER??? mj is gonna die when she hears!

Peter flipped the phone around again so the other two can see the conversation. “He’s in. And sounds like he’s going to nerd out at you, Doc—er, Jane. So, sorry.” He smiled sheepishly.

Jane laughed. “No problem. You did the same thing.”

“I did not!” he said indignantly.

Darcy nodded. “You totally did. Total babbling fanboy city.”

He blushed again. “Shuddup,” he muttered and shoved a forkful of noodles in his mouth. 

The server came by and dropped off the extra food, and Darcy snagged a spring roll. “So, Peter,” she said as she dipped the spring roll in the sweet and sour sauce. “Who’s MJ? Should we invite her too?”

He shook his head. “Nah, she’s too cool for movie night, and I think she’s out of town this weekend with her family. She’s like my only other friend besides Ned at school. Though she doesn’t like to admit it.”

Jane frowned. “Wait. You only have two friends? That can’t be right.”

Darcy nudged her with an elbow and shot her a warning look. 

Jane ignored it. “You’re like the coolest kid ever! Who wouldn’t want to be your friend.” She gestured at Darcy and herself. “We’re your friends!”

Peter shook his head. “No, I have tons of friends. There’s you guys, and Mr. Stark, I guess, and the rest of the team. And-and, um, Karen. And May!”

Darcy could not keep her mouth shut. “Did you just count your aunt as one of your friends? And your AI?” she asked incredulously.

“Well they are!” he said defensively. 

Darcy chuckled. “Oh man, Parker. We gotta get you some more friends your own age. Aren’t there more interns at SI?”

“Yeah, but none of them are in high school.” He perked up. “Oh, except Ned! He’ll be an intern this summer.”

Darcy and Jane exchanged a look, but dropped the subject. Jane grabbed a spring roll. “If Ned’s going to show up in an hour, we gotta get a move on,” she told the other two. And flagged over the server for the check.

* * *

Of course Tony crashed movie night. And so did Pepper. Ned had trouble putting a coherent sentence together and sat stiffly on the loveseat, too awestruck by everything to pay much attention to the movie.

Peter nudged Darcy and threw a piece of popcorn at Ned, hitting him on the forehead. Ned blinked and shook his head, glancing around in confusion. Darcy chuckled softly and waited for Ned’s gaze to look away before launching her own piece of popcorn.

Across the room, Tony glanced over at the two of them in amusement and shook his head. He sifted through his bowl of snacks and picked up a pretzel. Which he flicked at the back of Ned’s head. 

“Hey!” Ned jumped up and glared at Peter. “Cut it out!” 

Peter tripped over his own feet trying to get off the couch as Ned threw a a series of M&M’s at him, one after the other. Darcy held her arms out in front of her face, laughing, as the candy hit her too. 

Jane lept to their defense and dumped her bowl of popcorn on top of Ned and dropped the empty bowl onto his head. 

And that was how movie night turned into a food and pillow fight. Mid-way through, Ned realized he had somehow ended up on Tony and Pepper’s team, as the three of them were hiding behind one of the couches, as Skittles rained down on them. Tony and Pepper were laughing hysterically. Ned grabbed a paper napkin from the floor and waved it frantically above his head. “We surrender!” he called out.

Later, after they surveyed the destruction of the living room and Tony and Darcy borrowed a prototype automatic vacuum from the R&D labs (“Seriously, Tony? It’s a Roomba!” “It’s not a Rooomba, Lewis. It’s better than a Roomba. Can a Roomba fly?”) and set it up to run all night, the group bid each other good night and dispersed to their respective quarters. Tony nudged Ned as he and Pepper headed towards the elevator. “Nice aim, kid.”

“Th-thanks, Mr. Stark!” Ned beamed. 

Darcy lightly punched Ned’s arm. “Congratulations. You passed. I guess you can work with us this summer.”

Even later, as Peter was getting Ned set up on the sleeper sofa in his apartment at the Tower, Ned looked over as he pulled a pillowcase onto one of the pillows Peter had grabbed from the closet. “Tonight was amazing!” he gushed. “I can’t believe I had a food fight with Iron Man.”

Peter smirked. “You were technically on his team. You had a food fight with me and Jane and Darcy.”

“So cool.” Ned’s voice was reverent. 

“You know you’re going to have to realize they’re normal people, right? You’re going to be around all summer.”

“But it’s _Iron Man_. And _Jane Foster_.” 

“Well, Iron Man hit you with a pretzel, and Jane Foster dumped popcorn on your head.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy gets wrung through the ringer and her science fam supports her.

Darcy walked out of the room completely drained. Instead of a written test like she had anticipated, every faculty member had sat on a panel in front of her and bombarded her with questions. So many questions. And then follow-up questions. And then she had to stand in front of a whiteboard and solve problems and equations in front of them.

She stopped outside the door and blinked blearily at the group waiting for her. “Hey, I thought you guys had left.” She squinted. “And what are you doing here, Peter?”

Peter grinned and made jazz hands. “Surprise!” 

Erik led Darcy over to a chair and pushed her into it. “Sit down. You look exhausted.”

“I feel exhausted,” she admitted. It had been a long day. She had arrived after lunch to see Jane, Tony, and Erik walking out of the examination room with Dean Williams. The dean had beamed at Darcy and bid the other three goodbye as she ushered Darcy in. And then it was Darcy’s turn for the inquisition. 

Darcy turned her phone back on and saw with surprise it was late afternoon. “Wow, did you guys wait here the entire time?”

“Nah,” Tony responded. “Your dean—nice lady, by the way. She likes me so she’s obviously a good judge of character—offered to text me when you were wrapping up. So we picked Peter up from school and headed back over.” He rubbed his hands together. “Now, what do you say to a celebration dinner?”

Darcy groaned and slumped down. “Can I just sit here for a bit and not think? My brain feels like oatmeal.”

The others pulled up chairs and circled around Darcy. Peter was telling the others about his day at school and about his upcoming finals when the exam room door opened again and the faculty members filed out. There were some curious glances at the odd group and a few respectful nods. Darcy wasn’t sure if those were directed at her or the more accomplished and recognizable names she was sitting with. 

The last one out of the room was Dean Williams, and Darcy relaxed a bit to see her friendly face. She walked over to them and put a gentle hand on Darcy’s shoulder. “You did wonderfully,” she said softly. She exchanged nods with the others and paused to look curiously at Peter.

He jumped politely to his feet and held out his hand. “Peter Parker, ma’am. I’m an intern at SI and I work with Darcy and Jane.”

Tony looked up at the ceiling. “And here I sit, chopped liver. Forsaken by my own intern.”

Williams smiled in amusement. “A pleasure, Mr. Parker. Renee Williams. I'm the dean of the School of Astrophysics and Space Sciences. You’re in high school?”

He nodded. “I’m a sophomore at Midtown School of Science and Technology.”

Her eyes widened and turned speculative. “Tell me, do you happen to have summer plans? ESU has--”

She was cut off by Tony, Jane, and Darcy. “No!” 

The three looked at each other sheepishly. Tony pointed at Williams. “No poaching my intern.”

Jane cleared her throat and looked at Tony. “You mean our intern. You agreed we can have Peter part-time.”

The dean laughed. “All right,” she agreed amicably. “But young man, I would be delighted to set up a campus tour for you at some point when you’re ready to start looking at colleges. Having these two fighting over you is a strong recommendation. ESU has excellent schools for engineering, chemistry, and physics, and more specialized programs like bioengineering, and, of course, astrophysics.”

Tony pursed his lips. “He’s going to MIT.” He looked over at Peter. “You’re going to MIT. Congratulations, you got a Stark Foundation scholarship.”

Jane shot to her feet. “Peter should at least consider Culver! Between Erik, Bruce, and I, we can set up tours and informational interviews of all the science departments.”

Darcy noticed Peter looking a little green and scooted forward to grab his hand. “Hey!” She glared at Tony and Jane. “Lay off the kid, will ya? Let him at least get through sophomore year before you start planning out his future.”

Silence met her words, though both Tony and Jane gave each other mulish looks. Peter looked at Darcy gratefully.

In that silence, Erik innocently remarked, “You know, Norway has some great universities.”

Peter groaned and dropped his head into his hands. 

* * *

Dean Williams walked the group through the building toward the front entrance. “It’s not official yet and we’re having another faculty meeting Friday morning to make the final decision, but it’s safe to say that you tested out of at least the first year of the program and a good part of the second,” she told Darcy. “I’ll give you a call Friday afternoon to confirm everything.”

Darcy’s shoulders slumped and she let out a breath. “Thank you,” she told Williams. “I would have been a nervous wreck.”

Jane looked over. “We’re working on building up her confidence,” she told the dean. “It’s been a bit slower than I would like.”

Williams nodded. “Yes, I can definitely see that. Darcy seems to lack an awareness of her own abilities and intelligence.”

“That’s exactly what I’ve been telling her!” Jane said triumphantly. “I wouldn’t have let her stick around for eight years if she didn’t know what she was doing.”

Erik made a noise in agreement. “Yes, Jane tends to have very little patience for those who can’t keep up with her while working.”

“Mr. Stark’s the same way,” Peter butted in. “And Darcy’s one of the few people he lets into his lab.”

Darcy was certain her face was as red as a tomato. “Technically, Tony doesn’t let me in his lab. FRIDAY let me in after _someone_ ,” she narrowed her eyes at Tony, “borrowed my electric spanner and didn’t bring it back.”

Tony shook his head. “Do you really think FRIDAY would let someone I didn’t want there into my lab? And I couldn’t find my spanner and Bruce wanted help building some gamma radiation detector thing.”

“You literally have to go down two levels and walk past three other labs to get to mine!”

Tony shrugged, unrepentant. “You have better tools.”

Darcy noticed the looks of amusement on everybody’s faces and groaned. “I hate you all.”

Jane gave her a side hug as they walked into the atrium. “Aww, we love you too.”

A young woman, blond hair cut in a neat bob, waved at them as they walked past. “Hey, Darcy! There you are!” She walked over. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Someone said you were in the building.” She took in the group surrounding Darcy and her eyes widened. “Hey, Dean Williams.” Her eyes lingered on Tony and she gave Darcy a curious look.

The dean nodded and smiled at the woman. “Hi, Sue. I was just walking Darcy and her friends out.”

Sue nodded and turned back to Darcy. “Hey, so my fiance is looking for techs this summer and I thought of you, if you’re interested. He’s planning a study to look at the effects of solar radiation outside the atmosphere on different biologic--.”

Jane held out a hand to cut her off. “No. She works for me and you can’t have her.”

Darcy rolled her eyes. “Down, Jane.” She smiled ruefully at Sue. “Sorry, but I’m spoken for. I’ve been working for Jane here for years, and, well, she’s kind of protective.”

“And greedy. Don’t forget greedy.” Tony rocked back on his heels and studied Sue. “Solar radiation, huh? How’s he planning on that?”

Sue blinked but that was her only reaction to being addressed by _the_ Tony Stark. Darcy approved. “We designed a specialized vessel that can exit and re-enter Earth’s atmosphere on its own. We haven’t started the actual building yet, but that’s our plan for the summer. The design’s sound. We’ve had NASA engineers looking over it.”

Tony’s eyes gleamed. “You don’t say. Who’s funding you?”

“Reed’s got his own funding from his inheritance, and he got grants from NASA and NSF.”

“What institution is he working out of?”

“Columbia now, but he used to be here at ESU.”

Williams smiled at the memory. “Reed was one of our best doctoral students and then postdocs. The man is brilliant.”

Tony pulled out a card and handed it to Sue. “Have him give me a call. I’m planning on building up an aerospace arm of SI.”

Sue clutched the card like it was the Holy Grail. Her eyes gleamed with excitement. “I’ll do that, Mr. Stark.” She looked over at Dean Williams, and then at Darcy. “Should I even bother grading your last paper? Professor Rohutna said you were going to be dropping the class.” She frowned. “Why on earth are you dropping it? You’re not dropping out of the program, are you?”

Darcy glanced over at Williams and shrugged. The dean came to her rescue. “It came to my attention that Darcy is far more advanced than most of her cohort due to her work experience, and we’ll be waiving a lot of her prerequisites.”

Sue grinned. “Oh good. I was worried you were abandoning us.” She laughed. “At least the other students will stop complaining to me about you throwing off the curve.” The phone in her hand buzzed and she looked down. “Oh, crap. I’m late meeting my brother.” She ran out of the building with a wave. “Nice meeting you, Mr. Stark! I’ll have Reed contact you.”

* * *

The restaurant Tony picked was fancier than any that Darcy had ever been in before. He walked in like he owned the place (though knowing him, that might have been true), was greeted personally by the maitre’d and then again by the chef after they had been seated. The food was amazing, though. 

Erik, Jane, and Tony recounted their meeting with Darcy’s professors. Jane was laughing so hard, she was wiping tears from her eyes. “Oh, the look on their faces!” she wheezed out.

Tony chuckled. “Yeah, when they asked us the most impressive thing we’ve seen you do, I doubt they expected ‘tasing Thor’ to be the answer.”

Erik smiled in amusement. “Oh, like ‘getting Captain America to swear when she beat him at Mario Kart’ was any better.”

“You’re one to talk,” Tony snorted, “Mister, ‘helped take down an army of Dark Elves’.” He rolled his eyes. “They really should have been more specific with their questions.” He looked over fondly at Darcy. “Don’t worry, Lewis. We talked up your actual scientific and technical know-how too.” He sipped from his glass of wine.

She grinned and shook her head. “You three are such trolls.”

Jane raised her glass and clinked it with Tony’s. “Guilty as charged.” 

Darcy looked over at Peter who was watching the adults with amusement. “Just you wait until it’s your turn,” she warned him. “It’s coming.”

He started and sat up straight, shaking his head. “Nuh uh. Not happening.”

Tony hummed. “College recommendation letters,” he murmured.

Jane added, “Your high school graduation.”

Darcy brightened. “Oh yeah! We can totally all show up and embarrass the crap out of you. I can make a giant banner. We can get all the Avengers to help hold it up.”

Erik mused, “They need chaperon volunteers for school functions, yes?”

Peter reddened and shoved a huge bite of chicken into his mouth and chewed furiously. Darcy laughed and reached over to ruffle his hair. “Don’t worry, kid. It’s physically impossible to die of embarrassment.”

* * *

Outside the restaurant, Darcy hugged Peter. “Thanks for coming out. I’ll see you Friday after school.”

He waved at the others as he got into the car Tony had called for him. “Bye, Jane! Bye, Darcy! Bye, Erik! Bye, Mr. Stark!” The door slammed shut.

Tony’s face scrunched up as the car drove away. “Wait. Hold up.” He turned towards the Jane and Erik. “How did you guys get to be ‘Jane’ and ‘Erik’ when I’m still ‘Mr. Stark’?”

Jane laughed. “I think he still only calls you that to annoy you.”

He harrumphed. “I don’t like it. Stop corrupting my intern.”

“Oh, Tony,” Darcy said sadly, hand to her heart. “It’s too late. He’s already been corrupted and I’m afraid it’s terminal.”

He grunted and got into the waiting limousine. “Just get in the car,” he grumbled, “before I change my mind and make you all walk home.”

Darcy sank into the seat and sighed happily. “Thanks, guys,” she said. “It means so much that you did all this for me.”

Erik looked over in surprise. “Well, of course,” he said. “Darcy, it was our pleasure.”

Tony pulled out his phone and tapped away at the screen. “Hey, Foster,” he said, “mind if I steal you and Darcy for the weekend? I could use some help converting the Quinn jet to arc reactor.” He looked over at Darcy. “But you’re not allowed to use duct tape, Lewis.”

Jane chewed her lip and she thought. “I don’t see why not. We can’t do anything else right now with the sensor until we have something to better test the range. And I’d love to get a better look at the arc reactor technology.”

Tony nodded. “Awesome. We’ll leave for the compound Friday night and get started first thing Saturday.” He looked at Erik. “You can come too if you want.”

Erik shook his head. “No, I’ll leave you three to it. These two like getting their hands dirty far more than I do.”

Tony’s phone buzzed. “May just said Peter can join us.”

“Oh cool!” Darcy grinned. “It’ll be a science sleepover. I call first dibs on Mario Kart!”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summer break starts. And Lab 97 gets an intern.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been awhile but life got in the way of writing. Updates may be a bit more sporadic moving forward.

Peter watched the clock. Ten minutes. Just ten minutes until the bell, and he was officially free. Around him, his classmates were either bent over their desks, frantically trying to finish the final exam, or, like him, staring at the ticking clock. 

Mr. Harrington’s watch beeped. “And that’s time. Pencils down and pass your tests down to the front.”

A few kids groaned and paper shuffled as the exam packets were passed up the rows. Mr. Harrington gathered them up and paused, studying the class. “I know you’re all anxious to get out of here, but I have a few announcements before the bell. I need to see a few of you after class.” He listed off some names, and Peter’s eyebrows rose when his was amongst them. 

The bell rang, and the noise rose as everybody raced towards the door. “Have a good summer!” Mr. Harrington called out.

Peter grabbed his backpack and made his way to the front. Ned was next to him, and he noticed that Flash and Cindy were too.

Mr. Harrington dropped the pile of exams on his desk, and picked up a smaller stack of papers. “I won’t take too long. But you all noted with the school you’re doing some summer program or have internships, and we have some additional paperwork you all have to fill out.” He passed out the packets. “Make sure your program head or supervisor fills out the evaluation at the end, and we need a personal essay on your experience. This has to be completed by the first week of classes in the fall or you won’t get your academic credit.” He waved them towards the door. “Now get out of here. I’ll see you all in September.”

“What are you doing?” Ned was asking Cindy.

“I’m going to a STEM program at ESU. You?”

Ned puffed up. “I’m interning at Stark Industries!” he said excitedly. “It’s going to be so cool!”

Flash scoffed, and brushed passed them all, pushing Peter out of his way into a locker. “Yeah right. Like anybody believes SI would take you for an intern.” He sneered. “I bet your internship is as fake as Penis’s.” He walked backwards and stuck up both middle fingers at them. “Later, suckers.” 

Peter sighed as he watched Flash’s retreating back and bumped Ned’s shoulder with his when he noticed his friend had hunched in on himself. “He’s just jealous.”

Cindy snorted. “No kidding. Did you know he applied for a Stark internship? Obviously he didn’t get it.”

Peter laughed. “No way!”

“Way!” She waved at the two of them. “I gotta go clean out my locker. Have a great summer! I’ll see you guys next year!”

They waved back and continued toward the front entrance.

“It’s going to be so cool working together,” Ned gushed. “Do you think Dr. Foster will let me help out in your lab? Or Mr. Stark?”

Peter shrugged. “I dunno. You’re working down with the programmers, right? Maybe I can convince Jane to ask for you specifically.”

“That would be so cool!” Ned practically skipped down the hallway. “Hey, wanna hang out this weekend before we start work on Monday? Oh em gee, we’re starting work on Monday!” He grinned. “But yeah, this weekend. I got a new Lego set and we can order pizza and have a Star Wars marathon.”

Peter shook his head. “Sorry, Ned. I gotta go up to the compound for my _other internship_.” He looked over meaningfully. “The whole team’s gonna be there so we’ll be training all weekend.”

Ned’s eyes widened. “That’s _awesome_!” he said loudly, and then lowered his voice when Peter shushed him. “I can’t believe you get to train with the _freaking Avengers_ ,” he whisper-shouted. “Your life is insane.”

“Yeah. I know.” Peter grinned. “But, hey, if you are free, you can get lunch with us Monday. Provided we actually break for lunch. We forget a lot.”

They walked outside and squinted a bit at the bright sunshine. MJ sat at the bottom of the front steps, her nose in a book. She glanced up as they approached. “S’up, losers.”

The two sat down on the steps above her. “Hey, MJ,” Peter said. He rummaged through his bag and pulled out a granola bar. “When do you leave for California?”

“Two weeks.” She closed her book and scowled. “And can I say just how much I’m not looking forward to spending all summer with my grandparents?”

Ned smiled awkwardly. “But it’s your grandparents. They can’t be that bad, right?”

“They’re super strict. Early curfew, healthy food, bah.” She rolled her eyes. “At least I get to go to the UCLA Women in Leadership program. It’s the only thing that will make this summer bearable.” She crammed her book back into her bag and stood up. “Come on. Let’s get a pizza before I’m stuck with a summer of nothing but hummus and celery sticks.”

The two boys shrugged at each other and followed her down the street. Summer break had officially begun.

* * *

The intern coordinator stared at Darcy with a pinched look on his face. “Miss Lewis, at SI you cannot ‘call dibs’”--and here, he actually used air quotes--“on an intern. We have a placement process for the interns, starting with a formal request for an intern from your PI.” He looked pointedly at her. “Neither Dr. Foster nor Dr. Selvig submitted an intern request form.”

Darcy sighed. “Oh come on! Ned would love working for us! And we’d love to have him. We could really use a coder to help us. Would cookies help? I can totally bake you some cookies. You look like a snickerdoodle guy.”

* * *

“Darcy, please don’t try bribing my employees.”

“Fine. But know that while I’m agreeing, I don’t like it.”

“I really don’t care.”

“Say, Pepper, you like brownies, right?.”

“… Make them dark chocolate mint.”

* * *

“I really can’t believe you bribed the CEO of the company so we could get an intern.” Erik shook his head at Darcy and gave a small laugh. “Only you.”

Jane looked up from her whiteboard, which was covered with diagrams and numbers. “Wait, what? We got an intern?” She frowned. “But what about Peter?”

Darcy was shoulder deep inside a piece of equipment, wires going every which way. “Technically, Peter is Tony’s intern who we get to borrow. I thought you’d appreciate having a full-time intern to boss around.” She sat back and wiped the sweat from her face. “’Sides, we could definitely use the coding help. Even more so when Reed comes on board and we’re helping to build a freaking spaceship.”

“Is that already settled?” Erik asked. “I thought he hadn’t even come in yet to interview.”

Darcy scoffed. “As if Tony would let someone with his credentials walk away. He’s determined to beat Elon Musk in the space race.”

“Just what is it with those two, anyway?” Jane capped her marker and frowned at the equation she was working on. “And something is off with the numbers here.”

Erik stood behind her and looked over her shoulder. He hummed to himself as he thought.

Darcy dropped gracelessly onto the floor next to the machine. “I don’t know what Tony’s beef with Musk is, actually.” She looked up at the ceiling. “Hey, FRIDAY, can you dish?”

A static noise emitted from the speakers, FRIDAY’s version of clearing her throat. “I’m afraid that whatever happened between Boss and Mr. Musk was before my time, and I can’t find any record in my archives. But Boss has complained about Elon Musk’s—and I quote—‘raging ego the size of Jupiter’, and has gone on about Musk’s inability to admit someone else might know better.”

Darcy and Jane exchanged amused glances.

“Maybe they should just whip them out and measure,” Jane suggested with a laugh. “Too much testosterone-filled ego.”

Erik stood up straight and grabbed the marker from Jane. “Got it!” he said triumphantly. He erased a part of the equation and scribbled frantically on the whiteboard.

Jane looked on, nodding and mumbling to herself as he wrote. Darcy smiled fondly at the two of them and pulled out her phone from her back pocket.

 **Darcy:** Yo Pete, what time are you getting here Monday?

Her phone buzzed as Peter messaged back immediately.

 **Peter:** 9 AM. I get to skip the intern orientation at 8. I have to rub that in Ned’s face later!

Darcy smiled. The punctuation meant that he was probably dictating to Karen in his suit. If he had been texting her directly, his messages would have been an English teacher’s nightmare.

 **Darcy:** Sweeeet. If you want to show up early I'm gonna bring in cinnamon rolls from that bakery next door. We got our own intern and I gotta welcome him in style.  
**Peter:** Dude! I’m totally there. You know I can’t resist Noona’s cinnamon rolls. And what’s this about your own intern? Does that mean you don’t need me then? Sad face emoji.

Darcy grinned. Looks like Peter still hadn’t trained Karen to use emojis yet.

 **Peter:** Damn. I mean colon dash left parentheses.

Or emoticons. Darcy laughed, and shook her head at her phone.

 **Darcy:** LOL! And no worries. We could never replace you! But I think you’ll like our new intern.  
**Peter:** It’s Ned, isn’t it?  
**Darcy:** … Way to ruin the surprise dude. Colon dash left parentheses.  
**Peter:** No way! You really got Ned assigned to you guys? That’s awesome!  
**Darcy:** Yup! I may have had to bribe Pepper with brownies, but mission accomplished.  
**Peter:** Why am I not surprised? Oh, gotta go. Cap’s yelling at me for not paying attention during the training exercise blah blah. Talk to you later.  
**Darcy:** Later! Go kick butt!

Peter didn’t respond and Darcy put her phone away. Jane and Erik were talking at each other excitedly, waving their arms and pointing at the whiteboard. Darcy sighed and got to her feet slowly. She should probably join the conversation and figure out what they were going on about, since she was supposed to be their lab assistant.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weekend shenanigans.

Peter trudged down the hall towards his suite at the compound, suit still on but his mask hanging from one hand. His feet dragged along the carpet. Every inch of him hurt. A hand clapped down on his shoulder and he looked up in surprised. 

“Cap!” He winced as his voice squeaked a bit. 

“Hey, Peter.” Steve was dressed in sweats and his hair was damp from the showers. “I just wanted to say you did great out there today. I know I pushed you hard, but I also knew you could keep up.”

Peter grinned up at him. “No, it’s totally okay. Today was awesome!”

Steve chuckled. “Oh, really? You should go hang out with Sam and Scott. Maybe you’ll rub off on them. They were laying on the gym floor whining when I left.”

Peter laughed at that. “No, I mean it. It’s like a dream come true, training with the Avengers. I could be unable to move Sunday night and I’ll still say this was the best weekend ever!”

Steve shook his head and smiled. “You’re a good kid, Queens.” He waved as he ducked into his suite. “I’ll see you at dinner!”

Peter waved back. “Later, Brooklyn!” His own suite was two doors down from Steve’s. The lock disengaged with a click as he touched the doorknob. “Thanks, FRIDAY.” He opened the door.

“No problem, Pete,” the AI responded from the speakers. He could not wait for FRIDAY to call him “Pete” in front of Tony. He’d finally broken through her programming and gotten her to acknowledge him as something besides “Mr. Parker.”

The door swung shut behind him and he pressed the emblem on his chest, releasing the suit to fall to the ground. He dropped it into the laundry chute in the bathroom, knowing that it would be cleaned and waiting for him outside the door tomorrow morning. Tony hired the best people. 

He flopped down on the sofa in his boxers and rolled his head back. He definitely had a giant bruise forming on his lower back from where Hope had kicked into him, using the momentum of growing in size to slam him into the wall. Ow. His spider-sense had warned him but it was hard to fight against an attack from someone a centimeter tall. Peter was really glad Hope was on their side; that woman was a menace in a fight. He was even more grateful for his healing factor. The bruise should be gone by morning, though that night would be a bit uncomfortable.

His phone dinged from where he had left it on the coffee table. 

**Mr. Stark:** Pizza ok for dinner? Pepperoni right?

To be honest, he was getting a little sick of pizza. May had been working third shift all week and pizza was cheaper than all the other take-out options. But he would never tell Tony that. 

**Peter:** yeah sounds good thanks mr stark!  
**Mr. Stark:** Sure thing kid.  
**Mr. Stark:** OK. Pizza should be here in an hour. If you want you could help Bruce and me in the lab after dinner.  
**Peter:** that would be so awesome!!!

He tossed the phone back on the table and headed to the bathroom. He had just enough time to shower and change before the food arrived. 

Team dinners were always a raucous affair, and that night was no different. There was good-natured sniping at Steve’s training simulations (a.k.a., hell, as Scott put it) and gentle teasing all around. Tony sat at the table supposedly working on his tablet, but Peter saw the older man’s lips twitch several times. 

After eating, Bruce, Tony, and Peter decamped to the labs. While the labs at SI were considered top-of-the-line, the labs at Avengers compound were way above the line. 

_Hell_ , Peter thought, _they probably drew new lines as they blew past the old ones._ He sat on a lab bench, swinging his legs as he watched Tony pull up a hologram. He squinted at it. “Is that a spaceship?”

With a swipe of his index finger, Tony created copies of the hologram and sent them in front of Peter and Bruce. “Yup. Reed Richards sent over his preliminary design for his ship. I wanted another set of eyes on these. As SI’s first official venture into outer space, this needs to be perfect.”

Bruce put on his glasses and frowned at the hologram. “This is a little outside my specialty, Tony. Don’t you have an entire engineering department you can tap for this?”

“I do and I have,” Tony responded. He sat on a stool and waved his hands in the air, enlarging the diagram in front of him. “But I need your help with a specific piece.” He flicked his hand and sent another file over to Bruce. “Here’s his study design. Look at the proposed lab space in the specs, see if there’s anything missing or should be revised.”

Bruce hummed and scrolled through the text. As he skimmed, his brow furrows diminished. “Oh, this makes much more sense then. If he’s looking at solar radiation and how it will impact various plant and animals...” His voice trailed off.

Tony glanced over at Peter and smirked. “And we’ve lost him.” He pulled over a stool and dropped down next to the teen. He pointed to a section of the diagram and the two started discussing escape and reentry velocities, aerodynamics, and protective shielding. 

* * *

Jane watched as Darcy scribbled on the white board. She looked over her former intern’s numbers and nodded. Darcy circled the final answer and capped the marker. She blew some stray hair out of her face and looked at Jane. “Well, how’d I do?”

Jane gave her a thumbs up. “I think you’re ready to input everything into the fabricator.”

Darcy rolled her shoulders and massaged her neck. “Can I go back in time and kick past me’s butt for deciding designing a satellite was a good final project?”

Jane laughed and shook her head. “Nope. After surviving London, this should be a piece of cake. And it’s just a prototype. It’s not like it’ll actually get launched or anything.”

“You say that now,” Darcy said, “but Tony has been asking way too many questions about the specs of this thing.”

Jane looked thoughtful. “Well, we do want to put another satellite up there to see if we can expand the range of the extraterrestrial sensor.”

“You haven’t even found the limit of the current satellites!” Darcy protested. She pointed her marker at her friend. “Stop being so greedy, Jane Foster.”

Jane laughed and held up her hands in mock surrender. “Gotcha. I’ll keep my hands off your satellite.” She grinned. “For now.”

Darcy threw the white board marker at her friend and blew a raspberry when Jane ducked. “Seriously, though, I’m already freaking out about this project enough without knowing it will actually be produced and launched. If I mess up the calculations or the wiring, no biggie. But if it’s actually going to be used...” Her voice trailed off as she shook her head emphatically.

Jane smiled softly. “No worries, Darce. If you want, I can get Tony to lay off too. Though I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Your work is solid, and you have Erik and me double-checking everything.”

“And sometimes triple checking.” Darcy leaned back against her desk and rolled her neck around. “God, I’ve been working too hard on this. I need a break.” She glanced at the clock. “It’s after seven!” She looked accusingly at Jane. “You let me work through dinner again!”

Jane blinked in surprise. “No way.” She grabbed her phone and grimaced at the screen. “Crap. Sorry, I lost track of time. And we still have to get the lab ready for Ned and Peter. And we were going to take tomorrow off, too.” She surveyed the mess of the lab and sighed wistfully. 

Darcy shrugged. “Meh. Peter’s used to us, and Ned will be soon enough. Might as well start as we normally are: controlled chaos.” She stretched her arms high above her head and several of her vertebrae popped. “I’m getting too old for these late nights,” she griped.

“No you’re not,” Jane retorted as she got out of her chair and grabbed her bag. “You’re not allowed to say stuff like that. I’m older than you!”

Darcy followed her out of the lab, locking the door. Behind them, the lights turned off automatically and the non-vital electronics powered down. Working at Stark Tower was really like working in the future.

The two shuffled tiredly to the elevators. “Do you want to go grab food?” Jane asked. 

Darcy shook her head. “I was going to reheat something and veg on the couch. I’m too tired to go out right now.” She glanced over at her friend. “But if you want to, we could order in and watch something on Netflix.”

Jane sighed. “I think I have some salad that I need to eat before it turns to sludge. But I’d be down for movie. Meet you in the common area in half an hour?”

* * *

>

Peter’s phone buzzed in his pocket and he looked up from the schematic he was studying. He grimaced when he saw the screen. He accepted the call and closed out of the file. Tony and Bruce were in the corner talking over a hologram of Reed’s study design. Tony was gesticulating wildly and Bruce was nodding along. He waved at the two of them as he headed to the door of the lab.

“Hey, May,” he answered. “I’m sorry I forgot to call you earlier after dinner, but we were in the lab and I lost track of time and—”

May’s laughter cut him off. “It’s all right, Peter. I just wanted to call and check to see how things are going. Are you having fun?”

Peter’s face lit up. “Oh boy, am I ever!” He bypassed the elevator and took the stairs up two levels to the main floor. He chatted happily to his aunt about the Avengers training. “And tomorrow, we’re going to take the quinjet out somewhere to do something in the wilderness. But Steve’s not telling us anything about what he’s having us do.”

“And Tony’s still going to drive you back into the city tomorrow night, right?”

“Yeah, that’s the plan.” Peter poked his head into the entertainment room and waved at the group sitting watching a movie before heading around the corner towards the living quarters. “I start my summer hours at SI on Monday. And, May, guess what! Darcy somehow got Ms. Potts to assign Ned to Jane’s lab! I’ll be working with Ned all summer!”

“That’s great, sweetie! You boys will have such a great time. And what a fantastic experience for Ned!” Peter could hear May’s smile through the phone.

“No kidding! Jane and Darcy will be helping Dr. Richards with his study which means we’ll be building a rocket ship! That’s so cool!”

There was a pause. “A rocket ship? To go into space?” May’s voice was hesitant and Peter winced. Whoops. His stowing away on a spaceship was still a bit of a sore point for his aunt.

“I promise to not be on it when it takes off,” he said earnestly. “I learned my lesson about space travel.”

“Well, I should hope so!”

FRIDAY unlocked his door and he walked in and flopped down on the couch. “Don’t worry about me, May. Jane and Darcy would murder me if I did anything dangerous. And Erik and Mr. Stark would probably help them.”

“You know, as much as you talk about those two—and I am very grateful that they seem to have taken you under their wing—I still haven’t met them. You should invite them over for dinner one night.”

Peter winced at the thought of exposing his two friends to his aunt’s cooking. “Or you could come to the Tower,” he suggested quickly. “Then you can see the lab and all the different projects we’re working on. And there’s a great Thai place around the corner from the Tower that you’d love. And if you don’t want Thai, there’s Indian, Mexican, Italian, Greek. There’s even an Ethiopian restaurant that Ms. Potts took me to once that was really good.” He crossed his fingers.

“That would be nice. I’ve actually never seen your workplace either.” She laughed. “I should totally use my connections and get a private tour of Stark Tower.”

He sighed in relief. “I’m sure it would be no problem. I can talk to Happy.”

“Oh! That reminds me. I’ve been baking today and I have date loaves for you to bring into work Monday. I even made one for Tony since he liked it so much last time.”

Peter’s eyes widened. “Oh, you really didn’t have to do that! That’s so much work.”

“Nonsense, Peter. These people do so much for you. So I have one each for Jane, Darcy, Happy, Tony, and that Dr. Selvig you mention sometimes. Do you think Pepper Potts would like one? I know you don’t work with her closely but she seems to like you.”

“I’m sure Tony would be happy to share with her.” _More than happy_ , Peter thought. He sighed, resigned to lugging a bag full of barely edible date loaves through security Monday morning.

* * *

The exercise Steve had planned for them was a complicated game that was part tag and part capture the flag. Tony had the flag and was trying to outfly the rest of the team to reach his goal before he could be tagged.

Peter swung next to him. “Hey, Mr. Stark!” he called out.

Tony’s voice came through the suit’s speakers. “You can’t distract me, kid. I’m laser focused.” He increased the power to the thrusters and put out a burst of speed. 

Peter called out. “I just wanted to tell you May made you some date loaf. Since you loved it so much.”

The head of the Iron Man suit whipped around to look back to Peter. “What the he—”

Peter winced a bit when his mentor crashed into a tree. He tapped the suit’s helmet. “Tag!” he cried out gleefully and snagged the flag from Tony’s gauntlet. As he swung away towards his own goal, he grinned when he heard Tony cursing behind him.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter delivers walnut date loaf. Ned starts his internship. Surprise guest!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's been a minute. Sorry guys! This story is 100% not abandoned. I have PLANS for it. But life gets in the way, and work got crazy. Hopefully it won't be months until the next chapter.

Happy looked dubiously down at the foil wrapped package Peter was holding out to him. “Kid, you had FRIDAY page me so you can give me...” His brow furrowed. “Just what is it, anyway?”

Peter shoved it into Happy’s hands. “It’s walnut date loaf. I am really sorry, but maybe you shouldn’t eat it and oh my god, you really shouldn’t eat it because May’s cooking is—well, the roaches don’t even go for it, and I’ll take it back and—”

Happy clutched the date loaf closer to his body and fended off Peter’s hands. “May made this for me?” His voice was softer than his usual gruff tone and Peter frowned slightly. “I guess I can take it back to my office and try it.” He nodded. “Tell your aunt ‘thanks’ for me, kid.” He walked away with a backwards wave. 

Peter stood in the lobby, clutching his tote bag full of loaves. “What just happened here?”

* * *

Tony saw him and ducked down a hallway. Three times. Peter rolled his eyes. “FRIDAY, where is he?”

“Boss is currently in Ms. Pott’s office.”

Mark, Pepper’s personal assistant, looked up as Peter approached. “Hey there, Pete. How ya doing?” Mark held out his fist and Peter amicably bumped it. 

“Hey. FRIDAY told me Mr. Stark was here.”

Mark grinned. “I gathered he was hiding from you? Now what did you do?”

Peter held up his tote bag. “My aunt made him walnut date loaf.”

Mark looked intrigued. “Why would the man turn down baked goods?”

“My aunt’s not the best cook.” Peter winced as he remembered the last time she tried making dinner. The neighbor had nearly called the fire department from all the smoke.

The door to Pepper’s office flung open. “That’s putting it mildly, kid.” Tony strolled out and sighed in resignation. “Okay, hand it over. Pepper eats all this weird health food that tastes like chalk. Maybe her taste buds will actually like it.”

Pepper appeared and smacked him lightly on the shoulder. “What Tony meant, Peter, was please thank your aunt for her very thoughtful and kind gift. And Tony will write a thank you note to give to her. Won’t you?” She glared at Tony.

He opened his mouth to say something, but at Pepper’s look, he sighed. “Yeah, yeah.” He looked over at Peter expectantly.

Peter put a foil wrapped loaf in Tony’s hand. Mark looked between the two of them in shock.

“You know, Mr. Stark, you really don’t have to eat it. I just promised May I’d make sure these were all delivered.”

Tony rolled his eyes but smiled fondly. “Only you, Peter.” 

After he and Pepper went back into the office, Mark leaned over his desk and loudly whispered, “What the hell? Tony Stark doesn’t get handed things!”

Peter bit his lip and shrugged. “He’s never had a problem in the labs. Maybe he’s used to it from me?”

Mark looked at the teen skeptically.

* * *

Peter walked into the lab lugging a big tote bag with him in addition to his usual backpack. He put it on the desk and handed out foil wrapped packages.

"What's this?" Erik asked curiously. He picked open the foil and his face lit up. "Bread!"

"It's walnut date loaf. My aunt made you each one." He scuffed the toe of his shoe onto the linoleum floor. "You really don't have to eat it. She's not the best cook, and seriously, she can burn water without trying."

Darcy pulled the boy into a side hug. "Hey, no worries. It's the thought that counts." She pulled a chunk off her loaf and popped it into her mouth and chewed. She got a funny look on her face. "Well, that's certainly... interesting."

Erik hummed thoughtfully as he chewed. "I don't think it's that bad. I think toasted with some butter, it will be alright. Maybe some sardines on top."

Darcy and Peter looked at him in horror. Jane snorted in amusement. "He's Norwegian. They put fish in everything," she told the other two. She peeled back the foil of her loaf and sniffed. “Hmm. Reminds me of something I ate on Asgard.” She took a bite and perked up. “Yeah, sort of.” she took a bigger bite. “Thanks, Pete.”

Peter’s face was even more horrified than the thought of fish on toasted date bread. “You actually… _like it_?”

Jane shrugged. “I’ve had worse.”

Darcy snorted. “Yeah, she has. The fact that she even eats at all some days, let alone eat something that isn’t moldy, is thanks to me.”

Jane shrugged. “Truth,” she admitted. She wrapped up her loaf again and put it carefully on her desk. “If you’re done delivering bread, I got something for you to work on,” she told Peter, and led him over a pile of circuitry in the corner. 

Peter looked at it skeptically. “Um, what is it?”

Jane grinned. “It’s the first array I ever built! Well, the computer bit anyway. I thought you and Ned could work on getting it up and running again. It would be a good exercise for Ned to get used to our quirks of engineering, and it’s not important so if it doesn’t work, then no harm, no foul.”

He poked gently around. “Um, just how old is this anyway?”

“I built it freshman year so…” Jane’s nose scrunched up. “Uh, yeah, we don’t really need to say that number.” She clapped Peter on his shoulder. “Good luck!”

Peter looked at the clock. “Uh, sure. I’ll just wait for Ned to get here. It wouldn’t be fair to get started without him.”

Darcy smirked over at him and winked. “That makes total sense to me. And while you’re waiting,” she pulled a box out from her bag, “cinnamon rolls!”

Jane perked up. “Oh, gimme!” She made grabby hands towards the box, which Darcy amicably held open for her.

Erik looked on in amusement. “Are we going to do any real work today, or just eat baked goods?”

Jane looked at him with a cinnamon roll in her hand. She deliberately took a big bite as she maintained eye contact.

Erik rolled his eyes, but chuckled good-naturedly. “Well, if that’s the case, pass the box over, Darcy.”

* * *

“Whoa.”

Ned was perhaps louder than he had meant to be, and heads whipped towards the door. Peter waved at him, a screwdriver in his hand. “Hey, there you are!”

Ned walked into the lab, his eyes wide. “Yeah, orientation was long, dude. I thought they would never let us out.” He spun in a circle. “This place is awesome!”

Darcy laughed and chucked a stress ball at the new boy. “Welcome to the animal house!” She waved him over. “I promise my orientation is tons more fun than the one you just sat through.”

Ned bounded over, grinning widely. “Oh yeah?” he asked.

Darcy whipped open a box and held it out. “First stop, cinnamon rolls.”

His jaw dropped. “I’m going to love it here,” he breathed reverently.

Erik popped up from behind a table, a bundle of wires in each hand. “Ah, you must be Ned!” He dropped the wires onto the tabletop and dusted his palms against his pants. “Welcome! Peter’s told us all about you.” He walked forward, hand outstretched.

Ned shook his hand reverently. “Wow. You’re Erik Selvig.” He paused. “Wait, Peter talks about me? To you?”

Erik laughed. “I’m surprised you know who I am. I’m barely a footnote these days compared to others.” He inclined his head towards Jane and winked at his former student. 

Ned shook his head violently. “You’re a legend, sir!”

Peter handed a cinnamon roll to Ned and pushed his friend toward a table. “Go set your stuff down.” He turned to Erik. “We go to a STEM school,” he explained. “We worship at the altar of science. All the teachers have pictures of their favorite scientists up in their classrooms. Mr. Harrington has you next to Marie Curie and Jacques Costeau!”

Erik’s cheeks tinged pink and he stammered, “Um, that’s very, um, flattering...” Hands in his pockets, he rocked back and forth and cleared his throat. 

Jane laughed at his embarrassment. She then grinned and grabbed her phone out of her back pocket. “Pete, Ned, go stand next to Erik!”

Erik sheepishly smiled and the two teens grinned as the flash went off. Jane tapped at her phone, and Peter’s phone pinged.

“There,” she told them. “You can show that to your teacher. Proof that you worked with the famous Erik Selvig!”

* * *

About fifteen miles away, in a small apartment in Queens, Roger Harrington, wearing a ratty t-shirt, a pair of boxers, and a bathrobe, was sitting down at his couch with a big bowl of cereal. He turned on Netflix and was about to hit play on the next episode of The Great British Bake-off when his phone buzzed on the table. He grabbed it and frowned when he saw a text notification from one of his students.

“It’s summer, Peter. What the hell are you contacting me for?” he muttered, regretting giving the decathlon team his cell phone number. He swiped his phone open and opened his text messages app.

He dropped his spoon into the cereal bowl with a splash. “Holy shit!” He gaped at the photo. He had never been more jealous of two teenage boys in his life.

Another text message appeared. 

**Peter Parker** : btw, jane foster took the photo. she says hi

A picture appeared of a smiling Jane Foster waving at the camera. The three dots appeared at the bottom of his screen, and Roger stared at them in anticipation. 

**Peter Parker** : Hi, Mr. Harrington! This is Jane. You have some great kids here. We love Peter and Ned.

“Oh my god...” he whispered. _The_ Jane Foster was texting him. His fingers fumbled with the screen.

 **Roger Harrington** : That’s great to hear, Dr. Foster! It is such a great opportunity for them to work with such visionaries as yourself and Dr. Selvig. 

He cringed at that last text and covered his face with his hand. “What the hell, Roger. You’re such an embarrassment. No wonder your wife left you.”

His phone buzzed in his hand and he winced. They were probably all laughing at him on the other end. 

**Peter Parker** : hey erik asked if u wanted to come visit the lab & see what were working on? ned told him ur a fan and hed love to show you around

“OH MY GOD!” He screamed so loudly that his downstairs neighbor started banging on her ceiling with a broomstick. “Sorry, Mrs. Chang!” he directed to his floor.

 **Roger Harrington** : I’ll be right there!

He dashed off to the bedroom to change out of his sleep clothes, leaving his phone on the coffee table.

 **Peter Parker** : um...i think he meant like later this week?  
**Peter Parker** : mr harrington?  
**Peter Parker** : uh...i guess its ok for you to come by…  
**Peter Parker** : ok security knows ur comin... cya soon  
**Peter Parker** : darcy wants to know if u are okay with tacos for lunch  
**Peter Parker** : That’s Darcy Lewis, lab assistant extraordinaire and wrangler of scientists. Get it right or pay the price.  
**Peter Parker** : sorry darcy stole my phone  
**Peter Parker** : she also said u can have her walnut date loaf but u should def say no bc my aunt made it


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lab 97 has a visitor.

Roger Harrington had never been to Stark Tower before, though he had walked by it and stopped in the midst of tourists to stare up at its edifice. He had dreamed about what the inside looked like: the research and development labs, the engineering department—even the cafeteria, which was supposed to be a smorgasbord of food from all over the world. And to think, he had a personal invitation to go visit, from Dr. Erik Selvig, no less.

When he walked inside, a beep sounded, and a guard pointed him over to the security desk, where he gave his name and showed his drivers license. “I’m meeting Dr. Erik Selvig and Dr. Jane Foster,” he told the woman behind the desk, somewhat proudly.

She looked at her computer screen and nodded in acknowledgement. “Someone will be down to meet you shortly.” She handed him a lanyard with a card marked, “VISITOR,” in bold red letters under the Stark Industries logo. “Please wear this. You must be escorted by an employee at all times. If you are found unaccompanied, you will be removed from the premises. Return your badge to this desk when you leave.” Her tone was flat, and he got the impression she said those exact words many times a day to the point of memorization. She pointed him toward a bench on the other side of some metal detectors. “Please go through security and wait there.”

He obligingly went through the security scan and sat down. He took the time to take in the lobby, which was satisfyingly impressive: multiple stories tall, and all sleek glass and polished metal. It was also surprisingly elegant. His head was craned upward when a throat cleared. He jumped in surprise and lowered his gaze to meet Peter’s eyes.

“Hey, Mr. H.” Peter gestured for him to follow as he lead the way over to the elevator bay. “Welcome to Stark Industries HQ. My home away from home. I mean, other than school...” The boy stammered a bit and Roger smiled.

“Must be a bit weird, your teacher dropping by your work.”

Peter shrugged. “Yeah, a little. But after the blip, we had Thor drop by to see Jane and boy was that awkward. So awkward. They used to date, and she had dumped him, and, yeah. Darcy, Erik, and I stood in the corner and tried to figure out how to escape without them noticing. So on the scale of not weird at all to lovesick god of thunder,” Peter shrugged, “high school teacher is practically normal.”

The elevator arrived with a ding, and Roger entered it in a daze, trying to process everything that Peter had just dropped into his lap. “So, uh, your internship is a bit unconventional, huh?”

Peter grinned suddenly. “You have no idea,” he said with feeling. He then gave a little laugh. “But man, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

* * *

Ned and Peter were sitting at the tangled mess that was Jane’s first satellite computer, trying to sort through the wires. They were only half-heartedly doing so because the thing really was a disaster, and it was way more entertaining to listen to Mr. Harrington fanboy over Erik and Jane and the lab. Darcy was sitting at her desk tapping away at her computer, but she was also eavesdropping since she interjected several times into the conversation. Mainly about how the two astrophysicists would have killed themselves through malnutrition, exhaustion, or by walking into oncoming traffic because they were too busy doing calculations in their heads, if it were not for Darcy to keep them fed, lock them out of the lab so they would sleep, or remind them to look both ways.

Ned giggled softly after a particularly hilarious anecdote from Darcy that involved moldy cheese and a fire extinguisher. “Dude,” he whispered to Peter. “This job is _the best_.”

The two looked over as Erik scribbled on the whiteboard, explaining the physics of the Einstein-Rosen Bridge, complete with diagrams. Mr. Harrington sat on a chair in front of the board, nodding along.

The two boys giggled. “Do you think he understands half of what Erik’s saying?” Ned whispered.

“Not even,” Peter responded. “The dude teaches high school.”

The two were then stunned silent when their teacher got up and pointed to something in the diagram. He grabbed a marker and started marking up the whiteboard. Erik threw his hands up and started nodded emphatically. He jabbed a finger at the equation Mr. Harrington had written down and circled part of it.

“Uh, okay. Maybe he does understand,” Peter said slowly.

Jane approached the men, eyes locked on the whiteboard. She watched as the two continued to write on the board, markers flying. She then jumped in and started gesturing wildly at the two of them, and pointing at Mr. Harrington and then at a number on the board. Their voices got progressively louder, and even Ned without enhanced hearing could hear the three of them clearly talking over each other excitedly.

“What is even going on in here? Jeez, people, I could hear you from all the way down the hall.” Tony walked into the lab and looked around. His eyes landed on Mr. Harrington, and he blinked. “Huh, is it bring a random stranger to work day? Did I miss the memo?”

Mr. Harrington dropped the marker he was holding and stared at Tony in shock. Peter jumped up and waved. “Hey, Mr. Stark. Uh, this is my teacher, Mr. Harrington. Erik invited him to visit for the day.”

Tony raised his eyebrows as he looked from Peter to Erik to Mr. Harrington, and then back to Peter. “Is that so? That doesn’t explain why it sounded like Chip and Dale were throwing a party in here. The chipmunks, not the strippers.”

Jane jabbed her finger against the white board. “Tony, look at this!” she said excitedly. “We might have figured out a way to create the Einstein-Rosen Bridge without having an exact fixed point on the other end.”

Erik nodded. “And Roger here helped!” He looked over at Mr. Harrington with a slight frown. “What are you doing teaching high school chemistry? Where did you even learn all this?”

Mr. Harrington cleared his throat and shrugged. “I like teaching, and after I got my masters, people weren’t exactly knocking down my door after everything that happened at Culver—”

“Wait!” Jane’s eyes got wide. “You went to Culver? When? What department?”

“Chemistry, obviously, but I took enough classes in all the science departments that I'm really more of a generalist. Class of ‘08.”

Jane and Erik looked at each other and nodded. “Ah, that explains it,” Erik said.

“Explains what?” Ned whispered to Peter, who shrugged and tugged him over to where Darcy was sitting and watching the scene raptly.

“Oh, that was the year after the Hulk,” she told them. “Culver’s rep sort of tanked for a bit after Bruce did his big green thing, but it’s totally recovered since then, what with Bruce becoming an Avenger and no longer a fugitive, Jane being Jane, and that biology professor winning a Pulitzer.”

Tony at this point was looking at Mr. Harrington with bemusement. “So what, you’ve been stuck teaching a bunch of hormonal teenagers at some school here in the city this entire time?”

Mr. Harrington shrugged again. “I like teaching,” he reiterated firmly.

“He’s our decathlon coach,” Peter spoke up helpfully.

Tony raised an eyebrow at this. “So you had the dubious pleasure of chaperoning Peter in DC, did you?”

Ned snickered beside Peter, who was wilting into himself. “Busted,” he whispered to his best friend.

“Don’t look so smug there, Leeds. Weren't you on that trip too?” Tony looked knowingly at the two teens, and then smirked as Ned sputtered and Peter turned even redder. He turned back to Mr. Harrington. “Well, it’s good to have someone like you teaching the minds of tomorrow. If you ever get tired of it, let me know, will you? I can probably find a space for you at SI, given all the yammering I heard when I walked in.” He clapped his hands together. “Now, I’ve managed to escape from a board meeting for a few hours. Who wants lunch? I’m buying.”

* * *

Roger Harrington discretely pinched himself on the thigh, and winced at the sharp pain. But the scene did not change. He, a high school chemistry teacher, was still sitting at a table in a Mexican restaurant in Manhattan with Tony Stark (!!!), Erik Selvig (also !!!), and Jane Foster (triple !!!). How was this his life?

 _‘Who’s the loser now, huh, Tabitha?’_ he cynically thought, wondering what his ex-wife would make of him sitting in such company.

Tony Stark was looking around at the kitschy décor with a raised eyebrow. “Well, this place certainly has character,” he observed.

“They also have the best tacos I’ve had since New Mexico,” Darcy retorted, “So can it, Tin Man.”

“Darcy!” Jane gasped in shock. “How dare you forget about the margaritas!” She looked over at Peter and Ned. “You can try them for yourselves when you’re twenty-one,” she told them.

Tony snorted. “Such great role models, you are.” He turned to Peter. “See, Pete, I’m a much better mentor for you.”

“Didn’t you nearly blow up your lab the other week because you fell asleep while soldering?” Erik asked.

“Hey, we don’t talk about that.” Tony wagged a finger in Erik's direction. “And at least I was wearing pants!”

Peter leaned over. “They’re always like this,” he told Roger softly. “This means they like you,” he added. “Otherwise they’d be better behaved.”

Roger gaped at the luminaries bickering around him, and cleared his throat. He was Ned and Peter’s teacher, he reminded himself, and should strive to be more an authority figure and less a wide-eyed fanboy. “How do you two like interning at Stark Industries?” he asked them.

Ned lit up. “It’s only my first day, but it’s already awesome! Darcy brought cinnamon rolls. And now I'm eating lunch with Tony Stark!”

Roger smiled. He shared the awestruck sentiment. “And Peter? I remember hearing you’ve had an internship at SI for awhile.”

Peter nodded. “Yeah, for about a year now. It’s great. I learn so much. I’m technically Mr. Stark’s personal intern, but he usually lets me work with the other scientists if there’s a project I’m interested in. Before Jane and Erik, I was actually working with Dr. Banner for a few weeks on some gamma radiation project. So cool!”

Roger blinked. He had gotten the impression that Peter knew Tony Stark from their interactions earlier, but, “I had no idea you worked so closely with Tony Stark,” he said. “How’d you manage to get a position like that?”

Peter blushed and stammered. On the other side of the table, Tony spoke up. “I found him,” he told Roger. “Kid had been making YouTube videos of stuff, and I was impressed, so I looked him up. I figured if he could do that with crap he found out of dumpsters and from your classroom lab, I wanted to see what he could do with real resources backing him.” He smiled fondly at Peter. “And it’s definitely paid off. Kid’s a genius. Some of the recent patents SI’s applied for have his name on them as part of the research team.”

“That’s amazing,” Roger told Peter. “This also explains why my lab inventory wasn’t making sense for awhile there,” he added as he shook his head.

Peter drooped. “I’m sorry, Mr. Harrington.”

Tony laughed. “What else do you expect from a baby genius like Peter? Good thing he gets to use my chemical stash now.” He looked over at Roger. “I can write the school a check to cover the missing lab supplies.”

Roger blinked. “Oh, um, that won’t be necessary. We got everything replaced.”

“Nah, I really should send a donation to the best STEM school in the city, anyway. Gotta support our young minds, right? Especially a school that produced these two.” Tony waved at Peter and Ned. “Did you know that Leeds hacked my tech? That’s why we offered him an internship.”

Roger’s eyes widened. “Ned Leeds! You hacked SI?”

“Calm yourself, teach. I said my tech, not my company.” Tony waved a hand dismissively. “No harm, no foul. And again, the kid impressed me. Not many people can hack my coding.”

And then the server came over to take their order, and Roger was left gaping at Tony Stark, and looking at his two students with new respect and a little bit of awe.

* * *

On the walk back to SI, Darcy recounted their first meeting with Thor to the newest intern.

“And then I tased him and he fell to the ground, twitching.”

Ned’s eyes got even bigger. “You’re the coolest,” he told Darcy.

“And don’t you forget it.”

* * *

Roger again could not believe his life, as he traded Culver stories with Erik Selvig and Jane Foster.

“I actually met Bruce Banner,” he told the other two, “right before he became the Hulk. He used to bring me pizza when I worked at the computer lab, and I’d give him after-hours access to the computers.”

“Huh,” Erik mused. “Small world.”

* * *

“You really didn’t have to do that,” Peter told Tony as they were walking back to SI. The kid’s teacher was walking in front of them, talking with Selvig and Foster, probably about their good ol’ Culver days. Darcy and Ned trailed behind. Peter apparently was going to take the opportunity to gently chastise his boss.

“I know I didn’t,” Tony responded. “But I did. Kid, Happy has told me about how half your school doesn’t think your internship is real and how kids pick on you and your friend back there.”

“Wait. How did Happy know?”

“Doesn’t matter. He knew. I hire good people.” Tony looked down at the teen from under the brim of the baseball cap he wore to try and hide his identity. “And you’re one of them, and I would shout it from the rooftops if you’d let me.”

“Mr. Stark!”

“You’re adorable when you blush.” Tony laughed. “Look, I know this guy probably isn’t one of the ones giving you trouble—”

“Mr. Harrington never—”

“Nuh uh, no interrupting, kid,” Tony admonished, raising a finger. “I was saying, this guy is okay, but I roll out the dog and pony show and talk you and Leeds up, and he’ll go back and talk to the other teachers. And it will trickle down to the students. And maybe my little whisper campaign will stop the hassling you get. Okay?”

Peter sighed and walked a few steps in silence. “I guess, Mr. Stark...”

“Oh, and one more thing, Parker. You call me ‘Mr. Stark’ one more time and I’ll ground you from the lab.” He glared over his sunglasses. “You call Foster and Selvig by their first names, you can use mine.”

“Aw, Mr. Stark, are you jealous?”

“Are you trying me right now, kid? ‘Cause I can take the suit away too.” He rolled his eyes in mock irritation.

Peter laughed, and damn, if Tony’s heart didn’t lighten at the sound. “Okay, I’ll try.” A beat. “Tony.” He grinned impishly up at the older man.

“That’s all I’m asking for.” Tony pulled Peter into a side-hug, only a little awkwardly. “Now, want to sit in on the board meeting with me this afternoon? We’re talking about the new aerospace venture and reviewing Reed Richards' credentials and project proposal.”

Peter made a face. “No offense, but I’d rather eat May’s date loaf.”

Tony let out a laugh. “Don’t tell Pepper, but me too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The actor who plays Mr. Harrington totally had a small part in The Incredible Hulk. I had not realized this until I looked up the character on the Marvel wiki, and the plotbunny ran away from me and begged to be written.
> 
> The plot is moving forward, slowly, but I swear it is!


End file.
